Madness Takes Its Toll
by Cececat
Summary: Another telling of how sweet little Laura Trent "died" and crazy rebel Columbia was born. Also starring her old best friend, that greaser kid Eddie, and a collection of other colorful' persons. (Please Read and Review!)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own _The Rocky Horror Picture Show_**

 **A/N: Like _The Foundling Girl_ , this is a re-posted I deleted for a reason I can't recall. I want to know if I should keep going with it. Recently I've begun so many stories that nobody seems to read. Hopefully I'll end up posting something that becomes popular... **

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The year was 1969, the month March.

A 15-year-old girl named Laura Eleanor Trent was walking to school. This wasn't out of the ordinary. Indeed, every day she got to school in this manner. Even if it rained or snowed.

Strange as it sounds, she did this by choice.

Every day she walked with her best friend Helen to school. They'd done this since Elementary School. Now, as freshmen at Denton High, they still did this. They'd meet at a street corner between their houses.

Then they'd walk the rest of the short journey to school chatting about all sorts of things. A few other kids at their small school were standing around outside the school, since the bell wouldn't ring for quite a while. Laura and Helen, of course, liked to go straight to class.

"We have a test in stupid old Dr. 'von' Scott's class today, don't we?" Laura said darkly, as they walked up to the school building.

Amusingly, Helen was too busy staring at a boy standing nearby to hear her. Laura realized this when her friend failed to scold her for calling their science teacher by 'that awful nickname'. Adding 'von' to his name wasn't that bad, in Laura's opinion, because he _did_ have an obvious German accent. Anyway, pretty much everyone else called him that…

"Isn't Brad Majors just so _cute_? I mean, even with those glasses… _especially_ with those glasses…"

"Don't be silly, Helen," Laura replied. "He's a senior _and_ he's dating that square Janet."

" _I'm_ not the silly one. _I'm_ not the one always staring dreamily at Eddie the wannabe '50s greaser," Helen pointed out.

"I don't!"

"Liar!" Helen said teasingly. "Anyway, you talk like him. You called Janet Weiss a square. _Nobody_ uses slang like that. Next you'll be saying 'golly' or 'gee' every other word."

Laughing to themselves, the two girls went right to their first class. Both of them were 'good kids'. Always getting to class on time, doing their work…

Of course, Laura liked to act a bit like a rebel. But that was all just talk. She didn't actually smoke, drink, date, or _anything_ like that. If given the chance she probably would. Anything to rebel against Denton's conservative standards.

But only if Helen wasn't there to stop her…

And they went everywhere together. They did everything together.

Yet, at lunch, Laura stared at Eddie and his friends.

"Will you stop looking at them, Laura? What if somebody notices?" Helen told her.

"Do you think he'd talk to me? Or am I too boring?" Laura asked.

"He'd start out talking to you and then- _Laura!_ "

To Helen's annoyance, her best friend was now walking over to where Eddie and his 'cronies' sat. Being the respectable person she was, Helen didn't understand what Laura saw in Eddie. A cheap punk wouldn't make a good boyfriend for sheltered ol' Laura.

That's what the call the forbidden fruit appeal. Maybe Helen would've known that if she'd ever taken a psychology class. If it weren't for all the nonsense about people lusting after their own mothers, she _would've_ taken a psychology class.

But now wasn't time to think about elective class choices. The idea of Laura even just speaking to a cheap punk like Eddie disgusted Helen. Time to rescue her…

Meanwhile, Laura had found her way to where the 'rebels' sat. She stood awkwardly in front of them, not really knowing what to say.

"What do ya want?" Eddie asked.

"Er, just to say hello," she muttered.

"Why would a cute little thing want to say 'hello' to a rebel like me?"

Laura smiled. They'd only been talking for a minute or two and he'd already called her cute! Of course, she didn't know that this was mere flirting. Yes, she was sort of cute. But he didn't really mean much by saying it.

Well, at that point in time he didn't.

"I think you're cute, too," she told him sweetly.

Eddie's friend – like Laura, he only had one friend – sniggered.

"Be nice, Jim," Eddie said, jokingly punching his friends in the shoulder.

Then, after a moment of awkward silence, Eddie gestured to the floor beside him.

"Would ya care to sit down, m'lady? It's rare we entertain such distinguished guests!" he said with mock-chivalry.

"Indeed, good sir," Laura said, laughing.

Just as she sat down next to Eddie, Helen walked over to her. Laura knew that her friend wasn't pleased. Yet sitting next to a boy at lunch wasn't a crime. Not even if that boy was a year older.

Why did Helen have to be so picky about things?

"Laura Trent! What are you doing?" Helen asked.

"I'm sitting here with Eddie and his friend Jim. What's wrong with that?" Laura replied, pouting.

"She isn't causing any trouble for us," Eddie pointed out.

"How do I know you aren't causing trouble for her?" Helen said darkly.

Laura rolled her eyes. "Helen! Don't be silly."

"You can sit with us," Eddie offered.

Without even replying, Helen stalked away. That worried Laura quite a bit.

"Why did you decide to sit with us, again?" Jim asked after a moment.

"Because Eddie is cute. And he's a rebel, which is exciting. I've always wanted to meet a rebel. Do you ride a motorcycle? I think Marlon Brando rides a motorcycle. Have you ever see _Guys and Dolls_? He's in that movie and-"

"Please stop talking," Jim said bluntly.

Laura blushed. She often babbled when she was nervous. Being around people she didn't know made her nervous, of course. Especially since Helen wasn't there at that point.

Eddie chuckled. "I do ride a motorcycle sometimes. And I am a rebel. Maybe, if you go to the party we're hosting this weekend; you can meet some of my friends."

"'The part we're hosting'? Whose 'we'?"

"Jim and I. The party's at his house, of course. Anyway… it's always nice to see a few new faces around – especially cute girls like you. So, will you go?"

Though it all sounded very exciting, Laura wasn't really sure. "I don't know. I don't have a car or anyway to get there…"

"I'll drive you, then," Eddie said.

Laura beamed.

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	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own _The Rocky Horror Picture Show_. **

**A/N: The weird slang dialects of Eddie and his friends are supposed to show they think they're cooler than they are. It's sort of how the gamblers in _Guys and Dolls_ talk combined with the speech patterns of the titler idiots in _Bill & Ted's _****_Excellent_ ****_Adventure_.**

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After school that day, Eddie and Jim went to the latter's house. They usually did that. Eddie lived with his awful uncle and his mother. So he hated going home. Jim's parents were pretty chill, thankfully.

But he knew that just going to Jim's house every day wasn't a good solution. Eddie's uncle seemed to think they did all sorts of terrible things together. Delinquents, he'd say.

Of course, they only did terrible things on weekends. Most days they sat around and talked about various 'hot babes' they'd seen at school.

That ex-Nazi bastard kept threatening to send Eddie to a psychologist to figure out why he always got into trouble. Though he hated his uncle, the closest thing he'd had to a father, he did not want to sleep with his mother. And those were the days when everyone still believed in Freud...

"Why did you invite that doll to the party?" Jim asked. "She is a square."

"Hmm?" Eddie muttered.

"That babe we met at school today, the cute skinny one. The one who walked up to us at lunch and spoke to us for no reason."

"She's most excellent looking, I do think," Eddie replied.

"Gee, Eddie. She's way too cute for you. Don't you think she's already got a boyfriend who she finds most excellent?"

"No. She does not have a social life, I think. A most tragic thing for her."

They sat there in silence for a while. As usual, they were in Jim's basement with his beloved record player playing... something. Weird rock n' roll from the 1950s.

"What do you plan to do when she gets to the party?" Jim asked. "The usual, maybe?"

Eddie shook his head in disgust. "But I don't think she will like that. She's a square, though most excellent to look at. That's the problem. I do not think she'll understand, which would be most tragic."

"Golly, you wish to treat her kindly and not use her? She is too excellent?"

"No. I just believe that giving her alcohol will be very dangerous. She's very thin. And you know that alcohol affects persons of a lesser weight in most tragic ways," Eddie pointed out.

"That is most true," Jim replied grimly.

"Who are you kids talking about?"

They both turned around to see Bones - Jim's college age brother and usual source of alcoholic beverages. He was much cleverer than them and planned to become a doctor one day, hence the nickname.

"A most excellent doll which Eddie and I met at lunch today," Jim explained.

"Ah. And you think she's too good for you?"

"More that she's to attractive for Eddie and that he will not be able to get her drunk without causing permanent damage to her," Jim replied.

"Gee, Jim, I'm not as most tragically cruel as you think! I do not go for innocent girls in such a way, since corrupting such excellent persons isn't nice. That is why the girls at my parties are never innocent," Eddie said.

Bones stared thoughtfully at them for a moment. "You know, I used to host parties like this when I was in high school. Sometimes girls or guys who weren't rebels - squares, as you call them - would show up. This wasn't a bad thing as long as you didn't get involved. In fact, Janet Weiss-"

"The most respectable blonde doll who's now a senior?" Jim asked.

"Yeah. Even she showed up once. As long as nothing crazy happens it's fine."

Then, Bones left.

"I do think that my brother is right. If we invite her and do not do anything that might harm her, things will work out," Jim said after a while.

"Fine. Let's just hope her parents don't freak out."'

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The next Saturday, at about nine in the evening, Eddie and his motorcycle appeared outside Laura's house. It happened to be an evening that her parents were out. That was very lucky indeed.

She'd been sitting in her room reading when she heard the motorcycle outside.

Of course, such a thing hadn't ever happened to her. At first she wasn't even sure if she'd heard a motorcycle outside because she'd only heard such a thing in movies.

So she decided to look out her window and see what was going on. When she saw Eddie, she grinned.

After a moment of gazing out the window at him she rushed downstairs, grabbed her coat, and then ran outside.

"Eddie!" she said brightly. "Are you going to take me to that party you mentioned?"

He nodded. "Yeah, doll."

She giggled.

They stood there for a moment. Then, Eddie spoke.

"If you'd just sit down behind me, and then put your arms around my waist, we can leave."

Smiling cheerfully, she did so. It all made her feel like a rebel. Though Helen wouldn't approve, it was ever so exciting. As they rode away she had to hold on to Eddie. The way the motorcycle went very fast scared her at first.

Of course, she soon got used to it. And it didn't really take long to get to Jim's house from her house.

When they got there, she could hear music playing from the basement since the back door was open. Carefully they both got off the motorcycle.

"C'mon, the party's in the basement," Eddie said, leading her around the house.

The back door led right into the basement. As soon as they entered the main room Laura relaxed a bit. This wasn't scary at all. It looked like fun.

Various guests were talking amiably to each other and drinking _something_ (that didn't look like water) out of clear plastic glasses. It worried Laura slightly.

Then, she noticed Jim standing near a table with a few pitchers of that mystery drink. He seemed to be serving other guests that drink. Wanting to know what it was, Laura walked over to that table.

"Hello, Laura. Before you ask, I'm not allowed to serve you any," Jim said, the moment he noticed her.

"Why not?"

"A square like you getting drunk won't go well. Especially if your parents find out," Jim explained.

"Why shouldn't a 'square' get drunk?" Laura asked, actually confused.

"Because you aren't used to that sort of thing and it'll be very dangerous to your health," Eddie explained to her.

Though she pouted quite childishly, she didn't attempt to drink any of the drink. That might've been a good thing, she realized after a while. Everyone who drank too much began to behave stupidly.

When the other guests began to leave, Eddie offered to give her a ride home. She agreed to this.

Once they got to her house, she thanked him.

Then, just as he turned to leave, she said: "Can I go to another party of yours?"

"Sure."

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	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own _The Rocky Horror Picture Show_**

 **A/N: Here she _begins_ to become Columbia. There's still more to her transformation than the name she gives herself...**

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The next weekend, she went to their party. And the next weekend.

On that third weekend – Halloween Weekend – she dressed up a bit. It was a good thing her parents weren't home, she realized. She wore the glittery shoes and dress she'd worn to her tap dance recital. They wouldn't want that accidentally getting dirty. Of course, they wouldn't approve of the party in the first place.

Though she'd probably say she'd gone to Helen's house if they asked.

Since Helen wasn't speaking to Laura, they wouldn't be able to ask the former if the latter was really with her. And it's not like they'd even noticed in the first place. For some reason, Laura's parents never really noticed anything she did.

For once that felt like a blessing.

As usual, Eddie picked her up outside her house on his way to the party.

"What're you supposed to be?" Eddie asked.

This confused Laura for a moment. Then, she remembered. "Oh, the costume? It's just what I wore to my last tap dance recital!"

"It's cute on you, doll."

Then they rode to Jim's house. He'd added a bunch of fake spider-webs to various bits of furniture in the basement for the holiday. Though only a few guests seemed dressed up as actual characters, all of them wore different clothes than usual. All very colorful…

It was very exciting, Laura thought. Then she noticed a table piled with colorful paper masks. Many had feathers or glitter glued to them.

"What're those for?" she asked.

"It's Halloween, and that's the time of year people dress up. So I just made a bunch of paper masks for people," Jim explained with a shrug.

Giggling, Laura snatched one off the table and tied it around her face. The reflection that stared back at her when she looked at the silver metallic jukebox was unfamiliar. But that only added to the fun. Now she wasn't boring old Laura. Who was she, then?"

The mask's pattern was not unlike that worn by Harlequin. That would make a good name, wouldn't it? No. Harlequin was a male commedia dell'arte character. Who was his feminine counterpart? His mistress? It took her a second, but then Laura remembered. The characters name was…

"Columbina," she whispered.

She wasn't Laura today. No, now she was a trickster named Columbina. Laura couldn't drink any of the alcohol, but the trickster Columbina could.

So that's what she did. After only a glass of whatever it was she'd already become a bit tipsy. Another glass only made matters worse.

Walking amongst the other guests, she didn't shy away from joining a conversation. Whenever somebody asked her name she'd just say 'Columbina' then slip away into the crowd again. It was a delightful game.

After a while she found Eddie talking to a cheerleader or something who'd snuck into the party. A _boring_ square.

"Hiyaaa Eddie,"

"Who are you? I don't think we've met," he said.

By then she wasn't sober enough to speak properly. She slurred her words and 'Columbina' ended up sounding like 'Columbia'.

"Mmmy n'me ss Columbia," she told him.

Somehow she now had the courage to kiss him. Of course, it wasn't actually courage. It was what people sometimes call 'alcohol-induced idiocy'. Laughing, the cheerleader walked away to talk to somebody else.

He kissed her back, not wanting to

"Yoou kiss b' th' book," Columbia/Laura muttered.

At that odd proclamation, Eddie laughed good-naturedly. "What did ya want? Just to kiss me?"

"Mm."

"Why would a cute little thing like yourself want to kiss me?"

"Dunno. Juusst di'."

Usually he'd go along with such things. A cute girl kissing him was perfectly fine by him. But something seemed... off about this girl. Something about her made him feel like he was doing something wrong.

Yet that didn't make any sense. Anyway, it _was_ just kissing. Or, at least, that's how it started out. Usually nobody was drunk that early in the evening. But once a doll did get drunk Eddie knew how to persuade them to have fun with him. Jim did the same thing, sometimes.

All it took for this girl was a few words.

He didn't really think about it. Who would expect a random girl to kiss them like that if she didn't understand? And why would she give in so quickly? Most girls walk away and talk to somebody else or leave if he started to say stuff that was too intense. The dolls whose middle names were probably 'slut', who would do somebody every weekend… they usually did this sort of thing.

Of course he didn't realize it was Laura/Columbia!

The next day Laura/Columbia woke up feeling miserable in a room that didn't belong to her. That scared her at first. It was dark, she could feel someone lying beside her, and she still was in _some_ pain…

Then she remembered.

Why had she been so stupid? And why did her head hurt? Did the alcohol give her a headache?

Suddenly, she realized how angry her parents probably were. They wouldn't be very happy about this. No, they'd probably disown her for staying out all night. At least she'd spent some of the time sleeping, judging by the fact that she was lying in a bed. And she'd just woken up… which meant she'd been asleep…

Too much thinking only made the headache worse. Anyway, she didn't feel like trying to figure out where that blood was from. Too confusing.

Though she was pretty sure she knew why she wasn't properly dressed. Her parents would be more upset if they figured out about _that_ part of the story. How was she going to explain this?

Then, Eddie opened his eyes and was horrified to see who lay beside him.

"Laura? Are you-"

"It's Columbia now," Columbia said, remembering new name she'd (accidentally) given herself.

And so, Laura the square was gone. In her place stood (well, lay) a rebel who wasn't sure how much fun being a rebel was. Now that she was a rebel, she didn't want to be…

It's funny how that sort of thing happens.

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